Globalization
and Social Change
Study Guide and Essay Questions for First Exam
The exam on Thursday, Feb. 15th, will combine multiple choice questions and one essay. (Each will count 50% of the exam, but separate grades based on a 100-point scale will be entered in WebCT--add and divide by two to get the overall score.) You should bring the essay (typed and double-spaced) to the exam, and hand it in with your answer sheet. If you do not, you will be expected to write the essay in a blue book in class. Bring a #2 pencil. You should be familiar with the following from the class lectures and discussions, readings, and films:
Chanda online
slide show: Chanda's view of what globalization involves in long-term historical
perspective
Emerging Powers: India film. Understand the argument the film makes
about why India is growing so rapidly. Understand the significance of Bangalore.
Know the rough population of India today. How the film interprets the problem
of poverty.
Held's distinction between hyperglobalizers, skeptics, and transformationalists: basic differences between these three schools of thought in the globalization literature.
Articles by Huntington, Friedman, and Barber: what their basic arguments about globalization are. Where they fit with respect to Held's categories. Be familiar with: clash of civilizations, the meaning of Friedman's book title, "jihad" and "McWorld" as Barber uses these terms; his concern with democracy.
The distinction between globalization as a process and as a project.
Steger book and accompanying class lectures/discussions/films/readings
--Steger's distinction between globalization and globalism
--Steger's two stages of globalism. Key political groups he identifies in the imperial globalist coalition: neoliberals, neoconservatives, social conservatives.
--the end of ideology debate and its relevance to the globalization debate. TINA and the concept of ideology..
--what Steger means by calling globalism the dominant ideology of our time--and what claims dominant ideologies generally make
--understand the relationship between neoliberalism and globalism
--Be familiar with the significance of Friedrich Hayek and MIlton Friedman, and the importance of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in the political triumph of neoliberalism. Understand the difference between the label of "liberalism" in the US and Europe. Be familiar with John Maynard Keynes and the concept of the "social market economy"
--the basic tenets of neoliberalism, and its basic policy prescriptions. Be familiar with the following terms:liberalization
deregulation
privatization
free trade
"individual responsibility"Understand Steger's discussion of the six major claims of globalism and his critique.
Thomas Friedman: the "Golden Straitjacket" and the "Electronic Herd". Why Steger refers to Thomas Friedman's writing a lot.
The meaning of the "Washington Consensus."
The significance of Davos. What Susan George means by her reference to it.
Clips from The Commanding Heights: how financial crises and the effects of globalization gave rise to the alternative globalization movement.
Know what the Bretton Woods conference was and its significance
Be familiar with the basic purposes of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the WTO, as well as with why they have become so controversial. Be familiar with "conditionality" and with the issue of "product vs. process". The United Nations: be familiar with how its most important decision-making body is structured and with the name of its new Secretary-General.
Understand the relationship between most "foreign aid" and debt
Sen, How to Judge Globalism
Sen's view on whether globalization is westernization and a "Western curse"
his view of the "so-called antiglobalization movements;" why he believes that most participants are not actually against globalization
his argument about how to judge how the poor are faring under globalization
the meaning of his statement: "Globalization deserves a reasoned defense, but it also needs reform."
Understand Wood's argument that the cruise ship industry represents a "paradigmatic case" of neoliberal globalization. Understand the relevance of deterritorialization, the flag of convenience regime, and the privatization of cruise industry regulation. Be familiar with the outcomes of neoliberal globalization, and why the cruise industry serves as a warning about what an extreme form of neoliberal globalization might bring about.
Bill Moyers NOW excerpt on "Leasing the Rain": the country involved, why water was privatized and leased to a foreign corporation; why this led to popular resistance. The outcome of the struggle, as described by the film. Why this case study is an example of the possible outcome of neoliberal development policies.
Thomas Friedman: The World Is Flat. Understand the general argument and how it relates to Rosenberg's. The meaning of flatteners (you need not memorize the ten, but you should understand the relevant terms) and of a flat world. The different types of "sourcing." Why Friedman is worried about the US and what he thinks needs to be done.
Tina Rosenberg, "The Free-Trade Fix." Understand the overall argument of this piece, as well as the basic meaning of each of her "nine new rules for the global economy." Why she thinks that globalization needs a prescription to save it from itself. Know: maquila/maquiladora, sweatshops, dumping, Joseph Stiglitz, Jeffrey Sachs.
Steger on "anti-globalization" challenges. The complexities of mapping the terrain. Be familiar with the notion of "alternative globalization." Battle of Seattle; the significance of the banner, "Teamsters and Turtles Together At Last." Davos, World Economic Forum.
Anti-Globalization and Alternative Globalization movements and ideologies. Be familiar with the typology of positions discussed in class and illustrated in the online diagram. Know how to place in this context: Patrick Buchanan, Hugo Chavez, Al Qaeda, Ralph Nader, José Bové, most labor/environmental/human rights movements. Where Steger himself seems to stand.
Essay Question Topics: Choose one and write an essay of approximately 2 pages, typed and doube-spaced:
1) Analyze Amartya Sen's concluding statement, "Globalization deserves a reasoned defense, but it also needs reform." What does he mean by this and why does he believe it? Using the various resources of the course, including the Rosenberg article, discuss what kinds of reforms critics think are needed.
2) Explain what "neoliberal globalization" means and what kinds of policies and institutions it tends to involve. Discuss how the film clip on Bolivia and Wood's article on the cruise ship industry raise concerns over the outcomes of this kind of globalization.
3) Discuss who Thomas Friedman is and why he is considered such an influential analyst of globalization. Describe his basic argument in his books,The Lexus and the Olive Tree and The World is Flat. Then explain why Steger is so critical of Friedman's work. What do you think?
February 7, 2007